Tides of Time
by Catcrazy49
Summary: You and Arthur Kirkland have been best friends since you first met. You both dreamed of becoming swashbuckling pirates searching for treasure on the ocean blue for as long as you can remember, but when disaster strikes and Arthur goes missing, your view on pirates and Arthur himself could possibly be changed forever. Pirate England x Reader.
1. The Beginning

Tides of Time: The Beginning

 _You and Arthur Kirkland have been best friends since you first met. You both dreamed of becoming swashbuckling pirates searching for treasure on the ocean blue for as long as you can remember, but when disaster strikes and Arthur goes missing, your view on pirates and Arthur himself could possibly be changed forever._

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Catcrazy49 here with my first _long_ fanfiction to be posted ever! Please tell me if you see any typos or grammar errors and stuff, I hate it when that happens. **

**Key:**

 **(y/n) - your name  
(l/n) - last name**

 **Without further delay, I give you the Tides of Time!**

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Chapter 1

"Come on (y/n)!" a young Arthur called, throwing a wooden sword at you. You caught it with ease.

"This is the last time I promise! Just one more round!" He begged, holding his sword point towards you. You laughed at your best friend but agreed to his offer, getting into the proper sword fighting stance.

You and Arthur had been best friends since you could remember. You both shared a common interest in many things, the biggest of these interests being pirates. You both love the idea of pirates, always free and forever roaming the seas in search of treasure and adventure. You first met him when you were a toddler in the Central Square while skillfully hiding from your nursemaid, or at least as well as a four year old toddler could hide. Right now it was twilight, almost evening, but Arthur had challenged you to one last sword fight. You almost always won and even considered yourself a bit of an expert in the subject.

Wooden sword in hand, you began to circle each other, seeing who would make the first move. It was, as usual, Arthur. He charged at you, sword point aimed at your chest. You easily deflected his charge and swung your sword around to try and take a swipe at his arm. The fight lasted several minutes, with you having successfully pinned Arthur to the ground, both swords pointed at his throat.

"I win again!" You said happily helping Arthur up and giving him his sword back.

"You just got lucky (y/n)," Arthur grumbled, dusting himself off.

You smiled at your friend and put your arm him as you both walked down the hill to your tiny port village of Branville.

"Well, you'll be thanking me or my luck when you become pirate and I become your first mate," you said cheering him up.

"Captain Arthur Kirkland and his first mate (f/n) (l/n) sailing on The Kingsman," Arthur said, "I like the sound of that!"

"I think the Burning Rose sounds like a much better name to me," you say playfully pouting at him.

"No way, the Kingsman is such a better name for a ship. The Burning Rose sounds way too girly," Arthur said making a face. You laugh and keep on walking.

"Bye Arthur, see you tomorrow," you said stopping at your house.

"Bye (y/n), see you tomorrow," Arthur said turning away and walking to his home.

You lived in a very nice house, you were the second richest family in town. Arthur on the other hand lived in the poorer side of town, but that didn't preclude you from being best friends.

"Hi mom, hi dad, I'm home!" You called throughout the house, waiting for a reply.

"(Y/n) darling, there you are! We've been looking everywhere for you," your mom said coming down the stairs.

"I'm fine mom, I was just playing with Arthur. Today we were sword fighting..." You never got to finish for your mom stopped you midsentence.

"Oh heavens! Not this pirate nonsense again! I've told you a million times, pirates are evil, bad people and the scum of society. You should not imitate them," your mom scolded.

You sighed, bored with this conversation. You've had this talk more times than you could remember. You never could understand why people hated pirates so much. They weren't that bad, were they?

"And sweetie," your mom said, still not done with the conversation although you were, "you know I like Arthur, he's a nice boy and all, but it's time for you to start making some new friends who are, well, how do I put this..., of the feminine gender and well, more socially inclined than your friend Arthur."

"Mom! How could you say something like that?" You say, mouth wide open in surprise.

"First, Arthur is and always will be my best friend. Second, all the girls around here are snooty, mean, and care way too much about gossip for me; they would just stab me in the back. Lastly, why should I care about his social standing? It doesn't even matter. Who do you want me to be friends with, that annoying boy named Francis just because he's richer than us? I am done with this conversation," you say sternly glaring at your mom.

"(Y/n), go to your room! Look at your mother she's nearly crying," your father said returning your glare, "and you can certainly forget about going outside of this house except for chores the rest of the week."

You huffed and simply turned around and walked up the staircase.

"Have we failed as parents? I just wish we could have a second chance to change everything; to change her," Your mom murmured to your dad, thinking you were out of earshot. Now with tears starting to form in your eyes, you quickly returned to your room.

Arthur watched your house until you closed the door, making sure you were okay. He also always stayed afterwards, looking on, just in case you, for once, looked back at him; you never did. As he slowly rounded the corner, he came face to Francis Bonnefoy. Francis was a year older than Arthur and had shoulder length blond hair and piercing blue eyes. His family was the richest family in Branville and owned half the town.

"What are you doing on this side of the town? I thought all the trash was supposed to be picked up this morning, Caterpillar brows," Francis mocked, causing his gang to laugh maliciously. Arthur took one deep breath before responding. He would not lose his temper and let these bullies win.

"Nothing," Arthur said, "I was just bringing (y/n) hom..."

"Stay away from her, you hear? She needs to have good friends, not people like you," Francis said, "She needs someone like me, someone who can take care of her every need, ohohon."

"You little git! How dare you," Arthur said indignantly, only to be slammed up against the wall seconds later. Francis had a sneer on his face as he shoved Arthur to the ground.

"Honestly Kirkland, you need to learn which fights to pick," Francis said as he walked away.

Arthur slowly got up, brushing the dust off of him. He sighed, wishing he wouldn't be late again. Although Francis's insults might have hurt, he didn't regret a thing he did or said. He would always be there for you, no matter who or what tried to hurt you, and he would especially protect you from that jerk Francis no matter the cost.

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 **Please remember to favorite, comment, and follow! I don't mind constructive criticism but please no flames. Until the next update (which I think will be soon, editing sucks)! ~Catcrazy49**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or any of the characters, and I didn't draw the cover picture although I did write on it, so I give all the credit to all the people who deserve it.**


	2. The Cave

Tides of Time: The Cave

 **A/N: Hi everyone! I was going to write an oneshot for Alfred x reader, but I decided against it and updated instead, but I was in a place with no wifi. Once I got back I kept on getting more ideas. Please tell me if you see any typos or grammar errors and stuff, I hate it when that happens. That's all folks! ~Catcrazy49**

 **WARNING: Has mild cussing via Romano's Diary. This chapter is also pretty long.**

 **Key:**

 **(y/n) – Your name**

 **(word) – A translation in English of the word or words I used. Sorry if I get it wrong, blame Google translate** **.**

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Chapter 2

You woke to the sound of something hard hitting your window. You quickly got up and made your way slowly to the window. It had been a very boring week; your parents had kept true to your word and hadn't let you out of the house except for the most boring tasks. You looked out to see Arthur throwing pebbles at your window, trying to get your attention.

"Arthur, what are you doi-hey!" You said dodging a pebble that Arthur had thrown at the window.

"Heh, sorry (y/n), I wasn't expecting you to answer so quickly," Arthur said sheepishly, ducking his head.

"It's fine, but what do you want?" You say leaning your head out of the window to get a better view of him. He was wearing simple trousers and a plain shirt, looking both nervous and impatient at the same time.

"Can you come down?" Arthur said, gesturing to the ground.

"What?! How? All of the door to my house creek really loudly, and I can't exactly fly," you say surprised at his request. In response, he gestured to the side of your house.

"Oh fine," you sighed, rolling your eyes and slowly standing near the edge of your window sill, "But if I fall you better catch me."

You slept on the second floor, which made this task even harder. Luckily, your family had grown a trellis of ivy along the pillar near your bedroom. You grasped the ivy, praying that it wouldn't break. Everything was going well until you were about half way down. You stepped downwards to the vine below you, but your full weight made the vine snap and sent you plummeting down to the ground. You were surprised when you didn't land on the hard dirt, but instead warm arms. You opened your eyes to see Arthur holding you, an amused yet worried expression on his face.

"You okay, (y/n)?" Arthur said, gazing down at you.

"Yeah I'm fine," you say still shaking a little, "But I'm never doing that again. So, is there a reason you made me climb out of my window?" You ask.

"I haven't seen you in a week. I wanted to make sure you were okay," Said Arthur setting you down.

"Well, I'm fine, but did I really have to fall out of my widow to tell you that?" You say teasingly.

"Yes. And it was technically the side of your house, not from the window. I wanted to show you something, come on," Arthur said grabbing your hand and leading you throughout the alleyways of the city until you were by the Harbor. He led you down a small rocky path which led to a steep cliff.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" You say, becoming a little annoyed, "It's a nice view but couldn't you have showed me this in the morning?"

"Patience, my good friend," Arthur said, "and follow me." He led you down the side of the cliff until the waves lapped at your feet. You were about to ask a question when he suddenly dove into the dark ocean water.

"Arthur!" You cried out, alarmed, "What are you doing?"

"Come on (y/n), the tide will begin to rise soon and then we won't be able to see it!"

"You better be glad I'm your best friend," you grumbled, "because I wouldn't take a swim in the ocean in the middle of the night for just anyone."

You slowly walked into the icy cold water, trying your best to keep up with Arthur, who was surprisingly fast. He started swimming around the bottom of the cliff with you in tow. Right in front of it you noticed a dark cavern that you swore hadn't been there before. You and Arthur sometimes swam and explored around this area, much to your parents dismay, but you had never seen anything like that. Arthur swam into it, and having gone too far to go back, you reluctantly followed him.

You walked in and gasped. The cave was covered in luminescent plants and had a smooth interior made from centuries of waves. It was huge, and for what it lacked in height, it made up for in width. You marveled at how you had never noticed it before. You slowly started to walk forward admiring the cave. Arthur followed, watching as you stared around in awe.

"So, what do you think?" He said a little bashfully, as though he were showing you a hand drawn picture.

"It's amazing!" You exclaim spinning around in a circle, "Definitely worth falling off of my house and swimming in the middle of the night!"

Arthur grinned and explained to you how he found this strange place. Apparently while you were grounded he started exploring the shore. It was evening and he was walking at the base of the cliff when he noticed something; the lowering tide seemed to flow right into the cliff itself. Curious, he swam out to see what the cause of such a strange phenomenon was when he first found the cave. It was still mostly full so he had to wait until the tide has gone down some more. Finally, late at night the cave entrance was clear and he was able to get inside.

You were looking at him while he was telling the story and not where your feet were headed. Being the clumsy person you were, you tripped over a plant and landed against a rather large boulder, which budged against your weight.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked helping brush you off.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you say, regaining your footing. You were about to keep on walking when you noticed something odd. Your hair was slightly blowing away from where the rock had moved. Your back was to the waves so if anything the gentle ocean breeze should be blowing towards the rock.

"Arthur, help me push this boulder out of the way," you grunted leaning all your weight on it once again. Without questioning you, Arthur pushed against it, and between your combined weights you were able to move the rock away from the wall. It revealed a narrow tunnel that looked like a crack in the wall.

"(Y/n), how did you know?" Arthur asked.

"Gut feeling, now come on!" You said.

You squeezed inside the tunnel with Arthur close behind. It was higher than the cave you had entered, and you walked with ease. The tunnel seemed to be manmade, and had a torch holder about every 100 feet. _'What was this old tunnel used for? Was it an escape tunnel long forgotten, or something more?'_ you asked yourself brushing away a cobweb. It seemed as though you were walking for hours, but you knew that it could really have been only a few minutes. Finally, you saw a faint glow up ahead and started walking faster.

"Come on Arthur, we're almost there!" you said now breaking out into a full on sprint. You suddenly stopped dead in your tracks, causing Arthur to run into your back.

"Um (y/n), are you okay? Why did you stop…?" Arthur said, his sentence trailing off as he saw what was in front of him.

A massive ship embedded in the sand towered above both of you. It was bigger than any ship you had seen, larger than any of the cargo ships that came into port. Its sides were painted a peeling dark brown, and the railings and edges dusted a dark gold. The massive tattered sails and rigging hung from the ship's posts and mast, and the name of this ship was painted in gold on the back and side of the ship, outlined with red. Although most of the paint had peeled off, the letters were still readable, and spelled out _El Conquistador._ You turned around to speak to Arthur, only to have empty air behind you.

"(Y/n), up here!" Arthur said.

You turned to see your friend on deck of the massive ship, waving to call your attention.

"Arthur, how did you get up there?"

"I climbed through a porthole used for the cannons, now come on, it's really cool up here!"

As you walked closer to the ship, Arthur lowered a ladder down to you, and you slowly climbed on deck. It was very spacious, while still having enough room to fit several cabins on it. Above a large lower cabin was the helm with two smaller cabins on either side. While Arthur started exploring below deck and in the galley, you wandered up the stairs and into the cabin to the right. With a couple of hard shoves to the door, it grudgingly opened to reveal a rather tidy room with a fine layer of dust. You carefully walked in, exploring the room carefully. Finally, you reached a small desk with a single book lying on it. Picking it up, you flipped it open to a random page and began to read.

 _June 16, 1721_

 _That bastard Antonio is such a jerk. He rejected my idea for the ship name again! I think Il Pomodoro(_ The tomato _) would be a wonderful name, but no, El Conquistador is just SO much better. "We'll never be taken seriously if we use that silly name Lovi" he says. Like El Conquistador is any better. Bah, I hate Spain and all their made up words. That jerk bastard._

 _June 24, 1721_

 _He's finally decided to stop at his stupid private island so we can dump our gold off. We got a lot from that weirdo Holy Rome. And of course Antonio gets all the credit even though_ _ **I**_ _was the one who suggested we raid the damned ship in the first place AND then he gives me chores to do! "Swab the deck, fix the mast, blah blah blah," do it yourself you jerk bastard!_

You were just about to read another entry when you heard Arthur's voice call you from the other room next to you. You set the book down in its original spot and hurried into the other room where an awestruck Arthur stood. Unlike Lovino's room, this room was cluttered and messy, with piles of books and miscellaneous objects strewn everywhere. What caught your attention the most was the old wooden chest Arthur held in his hands. It was about the size of a small jewelry box and filled full of gold coins, various colored jewels, and other gold pieces of jewelry.

"Arthur, where did you find that?" you breathed, staring over his shoulder.

"In here. I picked it up but accidentally dropped it. Apparently the fall broke the old lock and it all spilled out. I managed to get it all back together though."

"What are you going to do with it?" you asked pulling out an old gold key on a chain.

"What do you mean 'you'? It's ours, we found this ship and the chest together. We should split it half and half."

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"No Arthur, _you_ found the chest, and it's all yours. I wouldn't be able to take it even if you shove it into my hands." You couldn't take it, even though it did sorely tempt you. You thought about his family; once his dad died about a year ago things got extremely tough for them. Including Arthur his mom had to support five kids alone. This money would change his life. Seeming to understand you wouldn't budge, Arthur sighed and stopped arguing with you.

"Fine," he sighed, "but let me at least give you this. Close your eyes." He pulled out the key you had admired earlier and stepped behind you. Pushing your hair to the front of one shoulder, he reached around you and slowly put the necklace on you, fingers brushing your skin.

"You can open your eyes now," he said, still close behind you. Your smile turned into a huge grin as you saw the necklace he gave you. Turning, you flung your arms around him and gave him a bone crushing hug and thanked him repeatedly. Finally letting go, you walked out onto the deck, only to gasp in horror. The tunnel was pouring out water and filling up quickly. Between the excitement of the ship and the treasure, you two had lost track of the time. It was now nearing dawn and the tides were rising.

"Arthur, we have to leave now!" you screamed back at him, running to the rope at the edge of ship.

"Why? What's the matter…" he said, trailing off as he saw the water. You both quickly abandoned the ship, leaving the treasure behind. As you got to the tunnel, you quickly plunged into the water which was now up to your knees.

"Come on Arthur it's getting higher," you say, plunging walking as fast as you can with the current wanting to pull you in the opposite direction.

"Right behind you," he gasped out, trying not to get swept away. The water was up to your chest as you and Arthur exited the tunnel. You heard wind howling outside and loud crashes of lighting realized there was a storm outside. The cave itself was filling up quickly and you started towards the exit when you heard Arthur call you back.

"(Y/n), the rock. We have to push it over the cave again. Otherwise it will flood!"

You swim back as fast as you can and help shove the rock back in place before the cave completely fills with water. You were about halfway to the exit when the water is to your neck. You could tell Arthur was trying to say something but his voice was drowned out by the sound of the waves and wind. With one last breath of air, you plunged underwater. Kicking frantically against the strong tides, you came closer and closer to the exit. Lungs burning and watery eyes, you thought you were about to pass out when you finally reached the surface of the water.

"Arthur! Arthur! Where are you?" you screamed as loud as you could against the howling wind. You desperately scanned the sea for any sign of blond hair. You were about to give up hope when you saw the top of his head appear a few yards from where you swam. You quickly made your way over to him, praying that he was okay.

"Arthur! Arthur are you okay? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. The current swept me out a bit too far. You can't get rid of me that easily," he laughed, trying to bring your near death experiences into a comical light. It didn't work. The storm was over by the time you had both reached town, and the sun daring to peek through the grey clouds.

"I hope you know that the ship is our new secret hideout," Arthur said, silently challenging you to disagree with him.

"I agree, but I'm not sure how many times I can wake up at twelve o'clock in the morning to go on adventures and still seem awake in the morning. And I have no clue what I'm going to tell my parents if they catch me, I might be grounded for another week," you say as you two approached your house.

Arthur looked a little guilty, so you quickly responded.

"Of course, it was totally worth it, and thanks again for the necklace Artie."

"Artie? Where on earth did you get _Artie_? Sorry to break it to you, but the name's Arthur," he said, a teasing grin on his face.

"Bye Artie," you say hugging him, "It really was fun."

And with that, you turned and went inside, thinking of the excuse to tell your parents as to why you were tired and soaking wet. You had almost made it to your room when you heard a cough behind you. You slowly turned around to see your father staring at you, a stern expression on his face.

"And just WHY are you soaking wet and wandering about the house so early in the morning?" your dad asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ummmm," you replied, "Well you see…"

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 **Whew! Well that chapter was about 1000 words longer than I thought it would be. Please remember to favorite, review, and follow! I don't mind constructive criticism but please no flames. Until the next update! ~Catcrazy49**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or any of the characters, and I didn't draw the cover picture although I did write on it, so I give all the credit to all the people who deserve it.**


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